The Official Blog of the Gwinnett Braves, Triple-A Affiliate of the Atlanta Braves.

Results tagged ‘ Stefan Gartrell ’

FORT MILL, SC. – After two starts at Gwinnett since being optioned from Atlanta on July 15, there was still reason to be concerned about young Randall Delgado. Those fears were put to rest Tuesday afternoon at Knights Stadium, as the right-hander dominantly pitched the G-Braves to a 7-2 win over the Charlotte Knights in the four-game series finale.

Delgado (W, 2-1) worked six strong innings for his second straight win, as he scattered five hits while giving up one earned run and one walk. Delgado also struck out 10 batters, including seven of the last 11 men he faced on Tuesday. The 10 strikeouts were two behind his career-high of 12 while with Myrtle Beach in the Carolina League of May, 2009.

The Knights jumped on Delgado early as Drew Garcia poked a one-out infield single in the bottom of the first, moved to second on a single to right by Brent Morel and scored on a single by Dan Johnson. The Knights were up 1-0 after one inning, but that would be the only run Delgado would surrender in the game.

Photo courtesy of Daniel Hamby

The G-Braves took the lead in the top of the third off former Parkview High School star Anthony Carter. With one out, Brian Friday singled to left and moved to second on a groundout by J.C. Boscan. With two outs, Felix Pie singled to center scoring Friday from second to tie the game, 1-1. Pie then scored from first on a double to left by Josh Wilsonfor a 2-1 G-Braves lead.

Gwinnett padded the lead in the top of the fifth off reliever Brandon Kloess, when Boscan drew a two out walk, stole second base and scored on a single to center by Wilson, giving the G-Braves a 3-1 advantage.

Andy Russell relieved Delgado in the bottom of the seventh and allowed the Knights only other run. Former No. 1 pick of the Chicago White Sox, Jared Mitchell greeted Russell with a single to left, and then took third when Russell’s pick-off attempt shot past Gwinnett first baseman Terry Tiffee. Tyler Saladino plated Mitchell from third with a groundout to first, cutting the Gwinnett lead, 3-2.

In the top of the ninth however, the G-Braves put the game away. Reliever Donnie Veal walked Josh Kroeger and Ruben Gotay with one out, as he gave way to Daniel Moskos from the bullpen. Moskos walked Friday to load the bases, then allowed Kroeger to score from third on a wild pitch, amping the lead to 4-2. Pie then drove in both Gotay and Friday with a single to center, boosting the lead to 6-2. A wild pitch moved Pie to third and an infield single by Wilson plated him with the seventh and final run of the game.

Carter (L, 2-5) worked two innings of relief for the loss giving up four hits and two earned runs. He stuck out one. Brian Bruney, pitching on a rehab assignment from the White Sox started the game and worked the first inning only with one hit and one strikeout. Kloess pitched 1.2 innings with two hits, one earned run, two walks and one strikeout. Former Gwinnett pitcher Deunte Heath worked 2.0 scoreless innings with one walk and three strikeouts. Veal was credited with 1.2 innings pitched, one hit, two earned runs, two walks and one strikeout. Moskos gave up two hits and one earned run and one walk and had one strikeout in 0.2 innings pitched.

Photo courtesy of Daniel Hamby

The G-Braves (51-61) and Knights (63-49) finish their 22-game schedule against one another with a season split, 11 wins each.

Russell worked the seventh with one hit and one earned run and Dusty Hughes worked a scoreless eighth with one strikeout. Anthony Varvaro closed the game out with a scoreless ninth, allowing one walk, alongside three strikeouts.

Pie and Wilson paced Gwinnett with three hits and three RBIs each and Stefan Gartrellwent 1-for-4 to increase his hitting streak to 11 games.

After an off day on Wednesday, the G-Braves open a four-game series in Durham, North Carolina against the Bulls. First pitch is scheduled for 7:05 p.m. on Thursday night, asYohan Flande (5-7, 4.17) will start for Gwinnett against the Bulls TBA (0-0, 0.00). Listen to the broadcast on AM 550/FM 102.9 WDUN in Gainesville, Georgia with Tony Schiavone calling the play by play.

Tickets for all Gwinnett Braves home games are on sale now at the Coolray Field Box Office. Call (678) 277-0340 or visit gwinnettbraves.com for more information.

FORT MILL, SC. – The Charlotte Knights squeezed past the Gwinnett Braves for the second straight game at Knights’ Stadium with a 4-3 win in game three of the four-game series. It was also the Triple-A debut of Braves left-hander Sean Gilmartin, and the Atlanta Braves No. 1 pick in the 2011 MLB Draft did not disappoint despite being tagged with the loss.

The Knights struck for two runs in the bottom of the first off Gilmartin, as Drew Garcia worked a one-out walk and moved to second on an infield single by Brent Morel. Garcia moved to third and then the red-hot hitting Connor Jackson followed with a double down the third base line scoring both Garcia and Johnson.

The Knight maintained the 2-0 lead until the bottom of the fifth. Tyler Saladino, playing in his first Triple-A game, led off the inning with an infield single and moved to second on a bunt single by Tyler Kuhn. On the play, Saladino broke for third, but the G-Braves first baseman Ernesto Mejia threw the ball away, enabling Saladino to score making it 3-0 and moving Kuhn to third. Kuhn then scored on a sacrifice fly to center by Garcia for a 4-0 Charlotte lead.

The top draft choice walked the next batter, Morel, but that would be the last baserunner he would allow, as he retired the last eight batters he faced. Gilmartin (L, 0-1) was credited with a quality start in his first G-Braves appearance. He worked 7.0 innings, with five hits, three earned runs, three walks and four strikeouts.

In the top of the eighth, against reliever Jhan Carlos Marinez, Josh Wilson led off with a single, then with two outs Stefan Gartrell (17) crushed a two-run homer to deep left cutting the Knights lead to 4-2.

Newly acquired infielder Brian Friday (1) hit his first carrer home run with Gwinnett, a solo shot, cutting the lead to 4-3 in the ninth. However, that would be the lone run the G-Braves would score against Charlotte reliever Brian Omogrosso. Omogrosso (S, 4) worked the ninth with one hit, one earned run and one strikeout, earning his fourth save of the season.

Photo courtesy of Kyle Hess

Buddy Carlyle pitched a scoreless eighth inning with two hits, one walk and two strikeouts.

Charlie Shirek (W, 10-4) continued his dominance of the G-Braves. He worked 6.0 scoreless innings with six hits, one walk and four strikeouts. This season against Gwinnett, Shirek is 3-0 with an ERA of 1.38 in three starts and one relief appearance. Marinez went 2.0 innings with three hits and two earned runs, as he walked one and struck out two.

Gartrell, Mejia and Wilson were each 2-for-4 for the G-Braves, as Gartrell extended his hit-streak to 10 games, his longest of the year. It was also the third straight game in which Gartrell has homered and his sixth home run in the month of July.

Jackson and Kuhn were each 2-for-4 for Charlotte and Jackson has a 14-game hitting streak for the Knights, a career best.

The G-Braves (50-61) and Knights (63-48) conclude the four game and season series Tuesday afternoon with first pitch scheduled for 12:05 p.m. at Knights’ Stadium. Right-hander Randall Delgado (1-1, 5.91) will start for Gwinnett against the Knights TBA (0-0, 0.00). Listen to the broadcast on 1240 ESPN Radio in Gainesville, Georgia with Tony Schiavone calling the play by play.

Tickets for all Gwinnett Braves home games are on sale now at the Coolray Field Box Office. Call (678) 277-0340 or visit gwinnettbraves.com for more information.

The Gwinnett Braves defeated the Durham Bulls 8-1 on Thursday night in the third game of a four-game series at Coolray Field. Luis Durango, Stefan Gartrell and Jack Wilson each recorded three-hit games as the G-Braves’ offense gave starter Randall Delgado all the support he needed. With the win, Gwinnett moves to within 2.0 games of the Bulls for third place in the International League South Division.

For the seventh-straight game on the homestand, the visitors scored the first run. Henry Wrigley broke a string of three-straight scoreless innings thrown by Delgado as he crushed a solo home run in the fourth, giving the Bulls a 1-0 lead.

The lead wouldn’t last long as Terry Tiffee tattooed a solo home run the next half inning to tie the game, 1-1. His towering drive over the left-field retaining wall came against left-hander Cesar Ramos and was his first since joining the G-Braves.

Gwinnett took the lead with a run in the fifth and never trailed the rest of the way. Wilson, continuing his rehab assignment for the Atlanta Braves, singled home J.C. Boscan to put the G-Braves ahead, 2-1.

Facing reliever Bryan Augenstein an inning later, Gwinnett tacked four more runs on to the lead. A single by Gartrell and back-to-back walks to Ruben Gotay and Boscan loaded the bases. Durango then came through with a two-run single up the middle, and Wilson kept the momentum going with a two-run double down the left-field line to increase the advantage to 6-1.

Gartrell capped his 3-for-4 night, his fourth-straight multi-hit game, with a double in the seventh. That hit moved Ernesto Mejia, who reached after being hit by a pitch, to third. Wilson grounded out to plate Mejia for his third RBI of the game, and Tiffee added a single to center scoring Gartrell for an 8-1 lead.

Delgado (W, 1-1) worked 5.2 innings of one-run baseball, scattering six hits and three walks while striking out five. He threw an efficient 110 pitches, 60 for strikes before exiting with two on in the sixth. Cole McCurry (H, 1) stranded both inherited runners and worked 1.1 scoreless innings. Anthony Varvaro and Andy Russell each threw scoreless innings to finish off the Bulls.

Photo courtesy of Karl Moore

Friday, July 27th G-Braves Starting Line-up from Coolray Field:

The Gwinnett Braves (48-59) and Durham Bulls (50-57) will play the finale of the four-game series at Coolray Field on Friday night. The G-Braves will have left-hander Yohan Flande (4-7, 4.44) on the mound, while the Bulls counter with right-hander Jim Paduch (5-8, 5.27) for a 7:05 PM scheduled first pitch. Listen to the broadcast on WDUN 550 AM and 102.9 FM in Gainesville, GA with Tony Schiavone calling the play-by-play. The television broadcast will air on CSS.

Durham Bulls (3rd IL South) vs Gwinnett (4th IL North)

Join the G-Braves in celebrating the 2012 Summer Olympics with Olympic Games Night on Friday night. The first 1,500 fans will walk away with a Cowbell presented by CSS. Post-game fireworks sponsored by WAGA Fox 5 Atlanta will follow the game. Tickets for all Gwinnett Braves home games are on sale now at the Coolray Field Box Office. Call (678) 277-0340 or visit gwinnettbraves.com for more information.

Left-hander Sean Gilmartin, Atlanta’s first round pick in the 2011 June free agent draft, has joined the Gwinnett Braves. The Atlanta Braves announced Gilmartin’s promotion from Double-A Mississippi to Gwinnett on Friday, July 27.

Gilmartin, 22, will make his Triple-A debut with the G-Braves after opening the season with Mississippi. In 20 games, all starts for the M-Braves, he compiled a 5-8 record and 3.54 ERA (47 ER in 119.1 IP). The southpaw struck out 86 batters while walking only 26 and held Southern League opponents to a .248 average (111-for-448).

His solid Double-A debut included back-to-back complete games on May 3 at Mobile (loss, 6.0 IP, 2 ER) and May 8 against Pensacola (win, 7.0 IP, 1 ER). Gilmartin threw a career-high 9.0 innings in a no-decision on July 6 vs. Jackson, striking out seven while allowing only a run on four hits. For that effort, he was named the Southern League Pitcher of the Week on July 8.

Photo courtesy of Melinda Pease

Gilmartin was drafted 28th overall in 2011 by the Braves out of Florida State University. He went a combined 2-2 with a 3.09 ERA in six starts between the Gulf Coast League and Class-A Rome in 2011. The Thousand Oaks, CA native began the year as the No. 5 ranked prospect in the Atlanta Braves organization according to Baseball America.

Gilmartin, wearing No. 56, will join the rest of his Gwinnett teammates on Friday night as they take on Durham in the finale of a four-game series. Left-hander Yohan Flande (4-7, 4.44) is scheduled to start for the G-Bravss, while the Bulls counter with right-hander Jim Paduch (5-8, 5.27) for a 7:05 PM scheduled first pitch. Listen to the broadcast on WDUN 550 AM and 102.9 FM in Gainesville, GA with Tony Schiavone calling the play-by-play. The television broadcast will air on CSS.

Join the G-Braves in celebrating the 2012 Summer Olympics with Olympic Games Night on Friday night. The first 1,500 fans will walk away with a Cowbell presented by CSS. Post-game fireworks sponsored by WAGA Fox 5 Atlanta will follow the game. Tickets for all Gwinnett Braves home games are on sale now at the Coolray Field Box Office. Call (678) 277-0340 or visit gwinnettbraves.com for more information.

Reid Brignac and Henry Wrigley each drove in four RBIs as the Durham Bulls outslugged the Gwinnett Braves, 16-8, on Wednesday night at Coolray Field. Brignac, Leslie Anderson and Rich Thompson all homered to help the Bulls take a 3.0-game lead over the G-Braves for third place in the International League South Division.

For the sixth-straight game on the homestand, Gwinnett fell behind early. Durham scored four runs against starter Jose Lugo in the first inning, chasing the left-hander with just two outs. Thompson, who went 3-for-6 the previous night, began a 4-for-6 effort with a solo home run to lead off the game. Lugo then walked the next three hitters to load the bases. Following a double-play ball that scored a run, Chris Gimenez and Brignac recorded back-to-back RBI singles to open a 4-0 lead.

Lugo yielded all four runs as earned on four hits and three walks. Buddy Carlyle entered the game and pitched 4.1 innings, surrendering three more runs on four hits while walking two and striking out two.

Durham added three runs in the second inning, boosting their lead to 7-0. Thompson reached first on his second of three hits in the game, took second on a groundout, stole third base and scored on Wrigley’s RBI single. The Bulls plated their final two runs of the frame when Anderson smashed a two-run home run off Carlyle.

Gwinnett finally answered back with a run in the second when Ruben Gotay singled home Josh Wilson, cutting the Gwinnett deficit to six runs. Stefan Gartrell blasted his 15th home run of the season in the third, a solo shot, cutting the Bulls’ lead to 7-2 after three innings.

After a scoreless Durham half of the fourth, the G-Braves bats struck for five runs in the bottom of the fourth to tie the game at 7-7. Terry Tiffee led off the inning with a walk, thenJose Yepez singled and Gotay followed by driving in Tiffee on a single. With two runners on, Luis Durango lifted a ball into deep center field for a two-run triple, cutting the deficit to 7-5. Jack Wilson drove in the fourth run of the inning with his sacrifice fly that scored Durango from third. Felix Pie singled and scored three batters later when Ernesto Mejiadoubled him home for his IL-leading 72nd RBI of the season.

Lance Pendleton (W, 6-4) started the game for Durham and lasted 5.2 innings in the slugfest. The right-hander allowed eight earned runs on 10 hits, walked three and struck out three.

Photo courtesy of Daniel Hamby

Thursday, July 26th G-Braves Starting Line-up from Coolray Field:

The Gwinnett Braves (47-59) and Durham Bulls (50-56) will play the third game of their four-game series at Coolray Field on Thursday night. The G-Braves will have right-hander Randall Delgado (0-1, 10.80) on the mound, while the Bulls counter with left-hander Cesar Ramos (3-2, 2.36) for a 7:05 PM scheduled first pitch. Listen to the broadcast on WDUN 550 AM and 102.9 FM in Gainesville, GA with Tony Schiavone calling the play-by-play.

Durham Bulls (3rd IL South) vs Gwinnett (4th IL North)

Kick off the weekend right with $3 food and drink specials, including special $3 berm seating all game long on $3 Thursday presented by Dave FM. Tickets for all Gwinnett Braves home games are on sale now at the Coolray Field Box Office. Call (678) 277-0340 or visit gwinnettbraves.com for more information.

Tim Beckham, Cole Figueroa and Rich Thompson all collected three hits each as the Durham Bulls defeated the Gwinnett Braves 10-8 on Tuesday night at Coolray Field. Ernesto Mejia and Stefan Gartrell each plated three RBIs apiece, but the G-Braves still fell to 2.0 games behind the Bulls for third place in the International League South Division.

For the fifth-straight game on the homestand, Gwinnett’s opponent scored the first run. Thompson led off the game with a triple for Durham and scored when the next hitter, Will Rhymes lifted a sacrifice fly into right field. Stephen Vogt followed with a double and scored when Leslie Anderson singled him home for a 2-0 Bulls’ lead.

Gwinnett responded in a major way in their half of third inning, crossing the plate five times against Durham starter Alex Torres. Lance Zawadzki, Luis Durango and Felix Pieall walked to load the bases, and Mejia capitalized on Torres’ lack of command when he singled to score the first two runs of the night for Gwinnett. Gartrell followed with an RBI single to cut the deficit to 4-3. After back-to-back walks to Josh Wilson and Ruben Gotayloaded the bases once again, J.C. Boscan capped the scoring with a sacrifice fly that sent Gartrell home for a 5-2 Gwinnett lead.

Torres worked 2.1 innings, surrendering five earned runs on just two hits. The left-hander yielded six walks while striking out five in the no decision.

G-Braves’ starter Julio Teheran would not fare so well with a lead. The right-hander allowed four more runs in the top half of the fourth and exited the game after 3.1 innings pitched for the no decision. Teheran surrendered six earned runs on eight hits, walking one and striking out one. It was his sixth start in which he failed to last 4.0 innings this season.

Photo courtesy of Kyle Hess

Wednesday, July 25th G-Braves Starting Line-up from Coolray Field:

The Gwinnett Braves (47-58) and Durham Bulls (49-56) will play the second game of their four-game series at Coolray Field on Wednesday night. The G-Braves will have left-hander Jose Lugo (2-6, 6.03) on the mound, while the Bulls counter with right-hander Lance Pendleton (5-4, 4.10) for a 7:05 PM scheduled first pitch. Listen to the broadcast on WDUN 550 AM and 102.9 FM in Gainesville, GA with Tony Schiavone calling the play-by-play.

Durham Bulls (3rd IL South) vs Gwinnett (4th IL North)

Wednesday night is “Christmas in July” at Coolray Field. The G-Braves will host a toy drive with all toys collected going to North Atlanta Toys for Tots. The night will also include an appearance by Santa, a Christmas Ornament giveaway to the first 1,500 fans, numerous holiday-themed contests, prizes and more. For a complete list of “Christmas in July” events and prizes, visit gwinnettbraves.com. Tickets for all Gwinnett Braves home games are on sale now at the Coolray Field Box Office. Call (678) 277-0340 or visit gwinnettbraves.com for more information.

After dropping the first seven meetings this season, the Gwinnett Braves finally defeated the Scranton/Wilkes-Barre Yankees with a 10-6 win on Monday night at Coolray Field. The Gwinnett offense collected 14 total hits including two from Felix Pie, who went 2-for-4 with a home run, run scored and three RBIs.

For the fourth time in four games on the series, Scranton/Wilkes-Barre scored first against Gwinnett. Brandon Laird crushed a solo home run off starter Eric Junge with one out in the second, giving the Yankees a 1-0 lead.

Gwinnett took little time to respond, as Stefan Gartrell singled with one out the very next frame. Following the first out of the inning, Jose Yepez continued his hot hitting with a single to right-center. That hit set up Lance Zawadzki’s RBI groundout, tying the game at 1-1.

The G-Braves took their first lead of the entire season series (a 61.2-inning span) in the third inning. Ernesto Mejia reached base on a single, and, following a walk to Gartrell, Yepez smashed his second single of the game through the infield to score Mejia. Ruben Gotay immediately followed with a run-scoring single of his own. A throwing error charged to Yankees third baseman Kevin Russo following a two-out single by Zawadzki allowed Yepez to race home for a 4-1 advantage.

The G-Braves extended the lead to 6-1 in the fourth inning. Jack Wilson, currently on a Major League rehab assignment for Atlanta, singled to lead off the frame, stole second and came around to score on Mejia’s RBI single. Gartrell then doubled down the left-field line to score Mejia, raising the lead to five runs.

Junge (W, 6-8) gave up a pair of runs in the fifth as he served up a two-run homer to Chris Dickerson, cutting the lead to 6-3. The veteran right-hander and former Scranton/Wilkes-Barre Yankee worked 5.0 innings of three-run baseball, walking one and striking out one. He threw 79 pitches, 51 strikes on the night.

Photo courtesy of Karl Moore

Tuesday, July 24th G-Braves Starting Line-up from Coolray Field:

The Gwinnett Braves (47-57) welcome the Durham Bulls (48-56) to Coolray Field on Tuesday night for the opener of a four-game series. The G-Braves will have right-handerJulio Teheran (6-5, 4.93) on the mound, while the Bulls counter with right-hander Alex Torres (3-5, 6.79) for a 7:05 PM scheduled first pitch. Listen to the broadcast on WDUN 550 AM and 102.9 FM in Gainesville, GA with Tony Schiavone calling the play-by-play.

Durham Bulls (3rd IL South) vs Gwinnett (4th IL North)

Tuesday night is another 2 for 1 Tuesday at Coolray Field. Visit gwinnettbraves.com/Tuesday to print your coupon, then present it at the Coolray Field Box Office for a special buy-one, get-one ticket deal. Some seating restrictions apply, limit six tickets per group. Tickets for all Gwinnett Braves home games are on sale now at the Coolray Field Box Office. Call (678) 277-0340 or visit gwinnettbraves.com for more information.

The Scranton/Wilkes-Barre Yankees took their third game in a row from the Gwinnett Braves, winning 4-3 on Sunday at Coolray Field. Corban Joseph’s ninth inning solo home run off Andy Russell gave the Yankees the lead for good as they improved to 7-0 against Gwinnett in 2012.

For the third time in three games, the Yankees scored the first run of the ballgame in their first at-bat. Chris Dickerson led off the game with a single against left-hander Yohan Flande, then stole second base and came around to score on a Kevin Russo RBI single.

Gwinnett finally answered back in the seventh inning as Ernesto Mejia led off the inning with a single. Following a two-out Ruben Gotay single, Jose Yepez came through with a clutch two-run double down the right field line, cutting the G-Braves deficit to 3-2. Yepez finished the game 2-for-4 with two RBIs, raising his batting average to .272 on the season.

The G-Braves tied the game 3-3 in the eighth when Jose Constanza began the rally with a leadoff single, then advanced to third base on an errant pickoff throw by left-hander Justin Thomas. The same at-bat, speedster Luis Durango singled up the middle for his 36th RBI of the season. Durango would later steal his second base of the game, raising his International League leading total to 35 on the season.

Walks to Mejia and Stefan Gartrell loaded the bases as Gwinnett threatened to take their first lead of the night in the eighth, but Ryota Igarashi struck out Josh Wilson and Gotay swinging to end the threat. Scranton wasted little time recapturing the lead in the ninth as Joseph capped his big night with a two-out solo home run to right field. With the game-winning blast, Joseph finished 2-for-5 with a team-high two RBIs.

Russell (L, 0-1) gave up the winning run on one hit over 1.0 inning of work.

Photo courtesy of Karl Moore

Monday, July 23rd G-Braves Starting Line-up from Coolray Field:

The Gwinnett Braves (46-57) and Scranton/Wilkes-Barre Yankees (57-45) play their series and season finale on Monday night at Coolray Field, first pitch scheduled for 7:05 PM. The G-Braves will have right-hander Eric Junge (5-8, 4.62) on the mound, while the Yankees counter with left-hander Mike O’Connor (2-3, 3.39). Listen to the broadcast on WDUN 550 AM and 102.9 FM in Gainesville, GA with Tony Schiavone calling the play-by-play.

Scranton Yankees (2nd IL North) vs Gwinnett (3rd IL South)

All kids 12 and under will receive a voucher for a free hot dog, bag of chips and a small soda on Kids Eat Free Monday. Tickets for all Gwinnett Braves home games are on sale now at the Coolray Field Box Office. Call (678) 277-0340 or visit gwinnettbraves.com for more information.

The Scranton/Wilkes-Barre Yankees scored eight runs in the first inning and never trailed, defeating the Gwinnett Braves, 13-8 on Saturday night at Coolray Field. Cole Garner crushed a grand slam as part of the big first frame and Brandon Laird added a homer and four RBIs of his own as the Yankees pounded out 15 total hits. With the loss, the G-Braves are a season-high 10 games under the .500 mark.

The Yankees jumped out to an early lead for the second straight night, plating eight runs before Gwinnett hitters grabbed their bats. Starter Brent Leach (L, 0-1) failed to get out of the first inning in his G-Braves debut, allowing seven runs on three hits and four walks in just a third of an inning. The left-hander yielded a leadoff walk to Chris Dickerson, single to Kevin Russo and RBI double to Corban Joseph as Scranton jumped out to a 1-0 lead. Following a walk to Jack Cust to load the bases, Leach allowed back-to-back bases loaded walks to Laird and Francisco Cervelli for a 3-0 Yankees advantage. Garner followed with the grand slam to left, opening up a 7-0 lead and chasing Leach from the game.

Buddy Carlyle relieved Leach and served up back-to-back triples to Dickerson and Russo as the Yankees took an 8-0 lead. Carlyle settled down to work 3.2 stellar innings, surrendering just one run on three hits while striking out four.

The G-Braves were held scoreless by Scranton right-hander Ramon Ortiz over the first four innings, but finally solved the veteran in the fifth with a six-run frame. Ruben Gotayled off the inning with a double, and Lance Zawadzki reached on an infield pop-up that was dropped by the third baseman Russo for an error. Following a groundout, Luis Durango singled home the first run of the game for Gwinnett. Felix Pie added a sacrifice fly scoring Zawadzki, and Ernesto Mejia tallied his International League leading 67th RBI with a single. The inning was broken open when Stefan Gartrell blasted a three-run home run off the brick wall in left, cutting the deficit to 8-6.

Only one of the six runs was earned to Ortiz (W, 8-3), who worked 5.0 innings with eight hits allowed, one walk and one strikeout.

Sunday, July 22nd G-Braves Starting Line-up from Coolray Field:

The Gwinnett Braves (46-56) and Scranton/Wilkes-Barre Yankees (56-45) play game three of the four-game series on Sunday night at Coolray Field, first pitch scheduled for 5:05 PM. The G-Braves will have left-hander Yohan Flande (4-7, 4.46) on the mound, while the Yankees counter with right-hander Adam Warren (5-6, 3.86). Listen to the broadcast on WDUN 550 AM / 102.9 FM in Gainesville, GA.

Scranton Yankees (2nd IL North) vs Gwinnett (3rd IL South)

Bring your ball and glove for a pre-game catch on the outfield grass at Coolray Field onFamily Sunday. All kids 12 and under will get to run the bases following the game. The Gwinnett Braves will also observe Cancer Awareness night as they recognize organizations that bring awareness to cancer prevention and detection or raise funds for cancer research. Tickets for all Gwinnett Braves home games are on sale now at the Coolray Field Box Office. Call (678) 277-0340 or visit gwinnettbraves.com for more information.

The Gwinnett Braves opened their eight-game homestand with an 11-3 loss to the Scranton/Wilkes-Barre Yankees in six innings on Friday night at Coolray Field. Ernesto Mejia went 2-for-2 with his team-leading 21st home run, but the Yankees scored five runs in the fourth and three more in the sixth before the rains came.

Jonny Venters made the start for the G-Braves as part of a Major League rehab assignment and worked a perfect first inning, throwing just six pitches. Jose Lugo (L, 2-6) replaced Venters and took the loss with eight runs on nine hits over just 2.1 innings.Cole McCurry yielded three more runs over 2.1 innings for Gwinnett.

Scranton jumped out to an early lead after tallying three runs in the second inning off Lugo. Jack Cust greeted Lugo with a single, then scored as Kosuke Fukudome blistered a triple into right-center. Ramiro Pena added an RBI single scoring Fukudome and Kevin Russo grounded into an RBI force-out scoring Cole Garner to give the Yankees a 3-0 lead.

Mejia answered back with a pair of hits to help the G-Braves draw even. The big first baseman singled and scored on a two-out double by Ruben Gotay that cut the deficit to 3-1 in the second inning. An inning later, Mejia smashed a two-run shot to left for his 21st blast of the year, tying the game at 3-3.

Scranton wasted little time recapturing the lead, as they crossed the plate five times in the fourth inning against Lugo. Russo ripped a two-run double to left-center scoring Pena and Doug Bernier to give the Yankees a 5-3 lead. Francisco Cervelli added an RBI double and Brandon Laird tacked on two more runs with another double to increase the lead to 8-3 and chase Lugo from the game.

Unfortunately, Jose Constanza went 0-for-2 at the plate, ending his incredible Gwinnett franchise record hitting streak at 22 games. Constanza’s streak was the longest streak in the International League since the 2007 season, when Columbus’s Brandon Watson put together an IL-record 43-game hitting streak.

Photo courtesy of Chris Roughgarden

Saturday, July 21st G-Braves Starting Line-up from Coolray Field:

The Gwinnett Braves and Scranton/Wilkes-Barre Yankees play game two of the four-game series on Saturday night at Coolray Field, first pitch scheduled for 7:05 PM. The Gwinnett starter is slated to be left-hander Brent Leach (0-2, 1.59 with Double-A Mississippi), while the Yankees will throw right-hander Ramon Ortiz (7-3, 2.84). Listen to the broadcast on WDUN 550 AM / 102.9 FM in Gainesville, GA with Tony Schiavone calling the play-by-play.

Scranton Yankees (2nd IL North) vs Gwinnett (3rd IL South)

With the new school year just around the corner, Georgia Power and the Gwinnett Braves are teaming up to hand out a free backpack to the first 2,000 fans through the gates on Saturday night at Coolray Field. Tickets for all Gwinnett Braves home games are on sale now at the Coolray Field Box Office. Call (678) 277-0340 or visit gwinnettbraves.com for more information.

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